EURASIA CONSULT
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Biomass as fuel . . . for the food industry
The emphasis in the discussions on the use of biomass has been on its conversion into fuel. However, in view of the concerns that bio-fuels might reduce food supplies, it seems to be time to shift some of the weight in the discussion on the production of food ingredients. The evidence is there that large scale conversion of biomass to food ingredients will make human food and animal feed both cheaper and more abundant as ingredients will be co-produced with foods/feeds in which they can be applied. China takes a leading position in this field. A large agricultural nation, the production of biomass in China is enormous. China produced almost 112 million MT of maize in 2007, which means that the volume of biomass from this crop alone was nearly 224 million MT. We can add millions of tons of waste from the processing of fruits and vegetables, animal waste, the waste industries like breweries, etc., and this all adds up to a gigantic and diverse volume of biomass. Biomass is an important feedstock for the production of a number of food ingredients, including: − Ethanol − Starch sweeteners − Modified starch − Amino acids − Citric acid − Lactic acid − Vitamins − Polysaccharide − PUFAs − Yeast R&D in this respect has been taking placing in China for a number of years, and some of this research is already starting to be implemented. This situation is not widely known outside China. A telling example is that the Wuliangye Group, China’s leading distiller, is also a producer of lactic acid, using the waste materials of the distillery as feedstock.
A look at Wuliangye’s plant Other such processes include: − the fermentation of soy sauce from corn lees − the production of citric acid from waste of sugar production − the extraction of fish collagen from fish (tilapia) offal − the fermentation of xylitol from corn cobs Eurasia Consult can make an inventory of processes for the production of food ingredients with biomass as raw material. We intend to concentrate on natural processes (like extraction or fermentation) that use biomass that is also produced by natural processes as raw materials, thus forming a non-polluting sustainable product chain. The inventory will include: the major R&D institutions, manufactories, working relationships between these two, and the relevant national regulatory authorities. The inventory will be preceded with an up-to-date overview of the status quo of this industry in China, including some of the perceptions of influential authorities in this business, and the opportunities for foreign investors.